A specially made ‘parent suit’ is helping rehabilitators rear two little Grey Crowned Cranes!
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (30 January 2026) – The KZN Crane Foundation has handed over a special suit to the team at FreeMe Wildlife, who specialise in the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of indigenous wildlife across the province.
The ‘parent suit’ – as they’re calling it – was designed by Cheryth Thomson to look just like a Grey Crowned Crane. It will assist the FreeMe team in rearing two chicks currently in their care.
The chicks were rescued from illegal traders attempting to sell them on the roadside. The team from KZN Crane Foundation then assisted in transferring the chicks to FreeMe’s rehabilitation site.
“Grey-crowned Cranes are an endangered species, so every life saved matters,” FreeMe shared.
The suit is actually one of the sweetest (and smartest) conservation tricks in the book!
The ‘parent suit’ will help ensure that the endangered chicks don’t imprint on humans. Young cranes – and many other birds – naturally bond with the first ‘parent’ that rears them. If that ends up being a person, the bird may struggle to survive in the wild later. It might seek out humans, fail to socialise with other cranes, or never learn proper crane behaviour.
By dressing like adult cranes, carers make sure chicks learn to identify with their own species instead. It helps them develop natural instincts like foraging, calling, and flocking which gives them the best possible chance of being released and living a normal wild life.
Sources: Linked above
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